Joshua7
English Standard Version
1But the of in regard to the , for the of , of , of , of the of , of the . And the of the Lord against the of .
2 from to , which is , of , and to them, Go and spy the . And the and spied .
3And they to and to him, Do have the , but let about two or and . Do make the whole up , they are .
4So about from the . And they the of ,
5and the of about of their and them the as far as and them at the . And the of the and became as .
6Then his and to the on his the of the Lord until the , he and the of . And they on their .
7And , , O God, have you this the at all, to us into the of the , to us? Would we had been to the !
8 , what can I , has their their !
9For the and all the of the will of it and will us and our from the . And what will you for your ?
10The Lord to , Get ! Why have you on your ?
11 has ; they have my that I them; they have some of the ; they have and and them among their own .
12Therefore the of their . They their their , because they have become . I will be with you no , you the from you.
13Get ! the and , yourselves for ; for thus the Lord, of , There are in your , O . You your until you take the from you.
14In the therefore you shall be by your . And the that the Lord by lot shall come by . And the that the Lord shall come by . And the that the Lord shall come by .
15And he who is with the shall be with , he and all that he has, because he has the of the Lord, and because he has an in .
16So in the and by , and the tribe of was .
17And he the of , and the of the was . And he the of the by , and was .
18And he his by , and the of , of , of , of the of , was .
19Then to , My , to the Lord of and to him. And me now what you have ; do not it from me.
20And , I have against the Lord of , and is what I :
21when I among the from , and of , of , then I them and them. And , they are in the my , with the .
22So , and they to the ; and , it was in his with the .
23And they them out and them to and to all the of . And they laid them the Lord.
24And and all with him the of , and the and the and the of , and his and and his and and and his and all that he had. And they them up to the of .
25And , did you on us? The Lord brings on you . And all him with . They them with and them with .
26And they over him a of that remains to this . Then the Lord from his . Therefore, to this the of that is the of .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Joshua 7.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Israelites smitten at Ai. (1–5). Joshua's humiliation and prayer. (6–9). God instructs Joshua what to do. (10–5). Achan is detected, He is destroyed. (16–26).
vv1-5
Achan took some of the spoil of Jericho. The love of the world is that root of bitterness, which of all others is most hardly rooted up. We should take heed of sin ourselves, lest by it many be defiled or disquieted, Heb 12:15; and take heed of having fellowship with sinners, lest we share their guilt. It concerns us to watch over one another to prevent sin, because others' sins may be to our damage. The easy conquest of Jericho excited contempt of the enemy, and a disposition to expect the Lord to do all for them without their using proper means. Thus men abuse the doctrines of Divine grace, and the promises of God, into excuses for their own sloth and self-indulgence. We are to work out our own salvation, though it is God that works in us. It was a dear victory to the Canaanites, whereby Israel was awakened and reformed, and reconciled to their God, and the people of Canaan hardened to their own ruin.
vv6-9
Joshua's concern for the honour of God, more than even for the fate of Israel, was the language of the Spirit of adoption. He pleaded with God. He laments their defeat, as he feared it would reflect on God's wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness. We cannot at any time urge a better plea than this, Lord, what wilt thou do for thy great name? Let God be glorified in all, and then welcome his whole will.
vv10-15
God awakens Joshua to inquiry, by telling him that when this accursed thing was put away, all would be well. Times of danger and trouble should be times of reformation. We should look at home, into our own hearts, into our own houses, and make diligent search to find out if there be not some accursed thing there, which God sees and abhors; some secret lust, some unlawful gain, some undue withholding from God or from others. We cannot prosper, until the accursed thing be destroyed out of our hearts, and put out of our habitations and our families, and forsaken in our lives. When the sin of sinners finds them out, God is to be acknowledged. With a certain and unerring judgment, the righteous God does and will distinguish between the innocent and the guilty; so that though the righteous are of the same tribe, and family, and household with the wicked, yet they never shall be treated as the wicked.
Key Words
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
מָעַל: properly, to cover up; used only figuratively, to act covertly, i.e. treacherously
מַעַל: treachery, i.e. sin
חֵרֶם: physical (as shutting in) a net (either literally or figuratively); usually a doomed object; abstractly extermination
עָכָן: Akan, an Israelite
כַּרְמִי: Karmi, the name of three Israelites
זַבְדִּי: Zabdi, the name of four Israelites
זֶרַח: Zerach, the name of three Israelites, also of an Idumaean and an Ethiopian prince
מַטֶּה: a branch (as extending); figuratively, a tribe; also a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff; figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread)
Cross References
Joshua 7Explicit warning concerning the accursed/devoted thing (cherem) which Achan violated, bringing trouble on Israel.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
The Mosaic warning that bringing an accursed thing into one's house makes them accursed like it.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Prophetic reversal where the 'Valley of Achor' (trouble) is transformed into a 'door of hope'.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Genealogical record designating Achan as 'Achar, the troubler of Israel' for his trespass.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
New Testament warning against a root of bitterness defiling many, applied to Achan's communal impact.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel use of the divine lot to systematically narrow down a hidden national transgressor.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Verbal idiom 'give God the praise' (or glory) used as a solemn oath to confess truth.
Supported by JFB
Parallel progression of sin (saw, coveted, took) matching Eve's temptation in Eden.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Classic expression of mourning and deep distress shown by renting clothes.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Ananias and Sapphira's secret sacrilege and dissimulation early in the New Covenant era.
Supported by John Calvin
The warning that 'your sin will find you out' realized in Achan's exposure.
Supported by JFB
Gehazi's secret greed, theft, and subsequent hiding of silver and garments mirror Achan's sin.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Law requiring destruction of devoted things so that the Lord may turn from His fierce anger.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Moses appeals to God's great name and reputation among Egyptians, mirroring Joshua's intercession.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Jacob's lament that Simeon and Levi had 'troubled' him, using the same Hebrew root.
Supported by Matthew Henry